Vancouver BC’s density leadership slips
When talking density in the Pacific Northwest, Seattle is inevitably compared to Vancouver, BC. Heck, all you have to do is drive through both cities and the differences are staggeringly obvious: Seattle has its traditional tiny section of skyscrapers, all of downtown Vancouver IS skyscrapers.
…. And Vancouver is often lauded for its density. I myself have looked at the two cities (to see past posts, look under tag Vancouver BC) and wondered why Seattle can’t do some of the density wonders Vancouver can. But a recent sprawl analysis from the Seattle-based think tank Sightline says Vancouver’s leadership in smart growth is slipping.
Boiling it down, the report says that in the 1990s, 67 percent of Vancouver’s growth was in compact neighborhoods while between 2001 and 2006, compact growth slipped to 56 percent of new urban and suburban development.
(I don’t know what Seattle’s numbers are in this field).
To conduct the study, Sightline mapped population density trends in the greater Vancouver area using data from the last four Canadian censuses.
Clark Williams-Derry wrote the report. This is a warning signal, rather than an alarm bell, he said. “Greater Vancouver is still a smart growth leader. But in light of BC’s ambitious climate goals and the rising costs of gasoline, the Lower Mainland should redouble its efforts to foster neighborhoods where residents can walk, bike, or use transit to for their daily travel.”
To see the report, go here. To see an animated sprawl map or where exactly sprawl is growing, click here.
Vancouver also has a very nifty Web site totally dedicated to its push for density, which it calls ‘EcoDensity’. To see it, go here. To read about the local fight for and against EcoDensity, go here or here.
P.S. Readers: I will be out of town for a few days so if you don’t see any new posts, now you know why!!!
Tags: Canada, Density, Vancouver BC
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